Radioactive source positioning system

ABSTRACT

A method of locating a golf ball is disclosed. The method includes providing a golf ball which includes a radiation source of a particular radiation type that is continuously emanating radiation, providing a radiation sensor capable of discerning and sensing the emanated radiation and providing an electronic signal corresponding to the sensed radiation indicative of radiation intensity, continuously mapping location of the radiation sensor by generating location coordinates, correlating the electronic signal to the location coordinates generating a correlation data, and determining location of the golf ball from the correlation data.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to location tracking of a radioactive source.

BACKGROUND

It is easy for golfers lose track of their golf balls on the golf course. The ball may roll into tall grass, behind a tree, into a bush, etc. It is not ideal for the golfer to spend excessive time searching for the ball on the sidelines of the course. Ideally, the golfer would know the precise location of the golf ball at all times.

Solutions do currently exist on the market that address this issue. However, these solutions are excessively expensive and limiting to be practical for the average golfer. These existing solutions work by visually tracking the location of the ball, or manufacturing a chip inside the core of the golf ball. The chip emits a detectable signal that can be used to find the location of the ball by the user. The balls are expensive to produce, and the golfer is inherently limited to use the ball made by the golf ball tracking manufacturer. Another existing solution to this problem is the implementation of multiple tracking devices on around golf courses and driving ranges. This solution is effective but expensive, complicated, and limited by the placement of the sensors.

Whether naturally occurring or by design, many objects are inherently radioactive. In applications where the precise location of a radiation source(s) is desired to be known, it makes sense to take advantage of already present properties to assist in the process of pinpointing the location of the object.

Therefore there is an unmet need for a cost-effective, portable, and easy to implement radiation source tracking system that may be contained in a single device that does not limit the golfer to use a ball provided by the ball tracking manufacturer, and improves convenience of many other applications where the position of a radioactive source(s) is desired to be known.

SUMMARY

A method of locating a golf ball is disclosed. The method includes providing a golf ball which includes a radiation source of a particular radiation type that is continuously emanating radiation, providing a radiation sensor capable of discerning and sensing the emanated radiation and providing an electronic signal corresponding to the sensed radiation indicative of radiation intensity, continuously mapping location of the radiation sensor by generating location coordinates, correlating the electronic signal to the location coordinates generating a correlation data, and determining location of the golf ball from the correlation data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of operation of the radioactive source positioning system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of method 105 of operation of the radioactive source positioning system. The method 105 operates by first providing a golf ball which includes a radiation source of a particular radiation type that is continuously emanating radiation as provided in 100. The method 105 further includes providing a radiation sensor capable of discerning and sensing the emanated radiation and providing an electronic signal corresponding to the sensed radiation indicative of radiation intensity as provided in 101. The sensor is continually receiving and recording the intensity of the radiation and provides the location of the sensor. The radiation sensor is moved within the field of interest to enable the recording of multiple data points. The method 105 thus further includes continuously mapping location of the radiation sensor by generating location coordinates as provided in 102. With the location and intensity data, the position of the radioactive source may be triangulated by using the inverse square law of decaying wave intensity, as known to a person having ordinary skill in the art. In particular, the electronic signal is correlated to the location coordinates generating a set of correlation data, as provided in 103. Once the electronic signal and the location coordinates have been correlated, the method 105 moves to determining the location of the golf ball as provided in 104.

Many different radioactive sources may be used in the method 105. To determine what source should be used, a person having ordinary skill in the art must consider the required radius of detection, along with the environment the radioactive material will be in. If a high radius of detection is required, then a more intense radioactive source may be selected. If the radioactive source will be located near people and or animals, then a low intensity radioactive source would be required. Type of radiation and energy level of the radiation must also be considered. Safety of those who will potentially be exposed to the radioactive source is of the utmost importance. It is imperative for the person having ordinary skill in the art to thoroughly consider the exposure anyone may have to this radioactive source and establish the intensity of the radioactive source to an amount that is less than the recommended maximum radiation exposure limit established by applicable radiation regulatory organizations.

Exemplary types of radiation can include one of γ, α, β, neutron, and a combination thereof. The single or combination of the different types of radiation can be discerned and differentiated based on different sensing provided in the radiation sensing of method 105.

For the golf ball to be trackable, it must contain a radioactive source within it on the surface of the ball. The radioactive source may be put inside of the ball during the manufacturing process or applied to the surface of the ball at the end or after the manufacturing process. The radioactive source may be applied in many different ways not included but not limited to a radioactive ink or dye applied to the surface, a small solid radioactive source adhered to the surface, or a radioactive source bonded to the outer layer of the ball. The intent of this process is to not disturb the weight distribution or the aerodynamics of the golf ball.

The one or more radiation sensors of the method 105 is capable of perceiving the intensity of the present radiation. This operation is performed by a radiation count rate from a Geiger counter or a Scintillation counter, or the intensity of the radiation with a semiconductor sensor, or a combination thereof.

The location tracking aspect of the method 105 is configured to receive the electronic signal form the radiation sensor. The location tracking aspect is based on a GPS (Global Positioning System), or an accelerometer that measures the acceleration of the device which can be used to determine the radioactive source positioning system's location.

The one or more radiation sensing and the location tracking sensing of the method 105 can be in the same device or separate. Radiation sensing of the method 105 is capable of providing a display to show the location or direction of the object(s) being tracked.

Some of the potential uses of this system can be to find objects that are lost. Storage facilities that house radioactive materials can use this system to aid in organization and tracking of their items in storage.

The radioactive source may be moving or stationary. For the sake of simplicity, it would be preferential for the radioactive source to be stationary. However, if the radioactive source is moving, this radioactive source positioning system will still be useful to direct the user in the approximate direction of the radiation source. The user must input into the radioactive source positioning method 105 whether the radioactive source is moving or stationary. If the radioactive source is known to be moving, the method 105 will automatically ignore older recorded data points in order to maintain the highest possible precision in tracking the radioactive source.

The radioactive source may be moving along a predetermined path. It could be desirable to monitor the radioactive sources location along this given path. The predetermined path may be pre-loaded into the radioactive source positioning system to greatly improve the precision of the tracking. In a situation such as this, it may not be required for the position of the location tracking device to be changed in order to properly track the radioactive source.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications can be made to the specific implementations described above. The implementations should not be limited to the particular limitations described. Other implementations may be possible. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of locating a golf ball, comprising: providing a golf ball which includes a radiation source of a particular radiation type that is continuously emanating radiation; providing a radiation sensor capable of discerning and sensing the emanated radiation and providing an electronic signal corresponding to the sensed radiation indicative of radiation intensity; continuously mapping location of the radiation sensor by generating location coordinates; correlating the electronic signal to the location coordinates generating a correlation data; and determining location of the golf ball from the correlation data.
 2. The radiation method of claim 1, wherein the discerning step is based on differentiating one of γ, α, β, neutron, and a combination thereof.
 3. The radiation method of claim 1, further comprising providing one or more additional radiation sensors capable of discerning and sensing the emanated radiation and providing a corresponding electronic signal corresponding to the sensed radiation indicative of radiation intensity, wherein locations of the one or more additional radiation sensors are mapped and correlated to further determine the location of the golf ball.
 4. The radiation method of claim 1, wherein the radiation sensor is a Geiger counter.
 5. The radiation method of claim 1, wherein the radiation sensor is a Scintillation counter.
 6. The radiation method of claim 1, wherein the radiation sensor is a Semiconductor sensor,
 7. The radiation method of claim 1, wherein the radiation sensor includes contains a global positioning sensor.
 8. The radiation method of claim 1, wherein the radiation sensor includes an accelerometer to provide position of the radiation sensor.
 9. The radiation method of claim 1, wherein the radiation sensor includes a global positioning sensor and an accelerometer.
 10. The radiation method of claim 1, wherein the determining step is computed by a position triangulation algorithm. 